With only four practices as a complete team under their belt heading into Tuesday’s home opener against Presidio, Fort Stockton had yet hit their early season stride under second-year head Zack Roberson.
That narrative changed in a rapid manner during the second quarter against the Blue Devils.
Fort Stockton erased a four-point deficit (22-18) with a 12-0 run to take a 30-22 lead with two minutes to play before halftime.
Fort Stockton Boys Basketball Schedule at O.W. Follis Tournament
Thursday, Dec. 1
New Main Gym: Panthers vs. Lubbock High (5A District 4) – 11 a.m.
Middle School Follis Gym: Panthers vs. Slaton (3A District 2) – 3:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 2
New Auxiliary Gym: Panthers vs. New Deal (2A District 4) – 9:30 a.m.
In Tuesday night’s Fort Stockton-Buena Vista game the Prowlers, coming off a home win before the Thanksgiving break, were looking to get some of their younger players some playing time against a formidable Lady Longhorns team.
The younger players did get some time, and the host Longhorns got the win, 45-29.
Fort Stockton junior Aryan Hernandez set the bar high for his teammates and himself to begin the season, scoring a team-best 18 points in a 59-51 season-opening victory at Presidio on Tuesday.
“We found a way to come back a winner. There were tons of mistakes, which are all correctable. Our boys applied pressure all night, which led to some quick transition scores and momentum to propel us to a victory,” Panthers head coach Zack Roberson said.
Only six players dressed out for the Lady Longhorns on Monday after when they took to the court against Alpine.
The limited number of available athletes was no problem for Buena Vista, not when three of the group playing were named Sanchez.
The Sanchez sisters combined for five 3-pointers and 34 of Buena Vista’s 56 points as the Lady Longhorns had their way with an injury-ridden Alpine Lady Bucks, 56-20.
Fort Stockton’s bid to become the first team in school history to win 11 games came up short on Thursday at San Angelo Stadium in the area round of the 4A-2 playoffs against ninth-ranked Glen Rose.
The Panthers lost a pair of their star players in the first three possessions of the game and the Tigers showed why they were six-time defending district champions behind quarterback Hudson White in a 63-12 victory.
